It is absolutely not true that a similar number that have gotten it to work without the bridge. Most of the people using it with the bridge don’t have any trouble getting it to work, so they don’t post as much. But it’s only a very small percentage of people trying to get it to work without the bridge, and many of them run into some kind of problem, even those who are experienced zigbee engineers. 
One of the problems is that using the Hue bulb without the hue bridge can damage the message carrying network for your other zigbee devices. That’s just a fact, and is one of the primary reasons why both Phillips and SmartThings tell you to use the bridge. I understand the desire for simplicity, but the hue bridge is very reliable, very easy to use, and not very expensive when averaged over the cost of all the devices connected to it.
See the FAQ: